Arizona became the first state to update its Medicaid regulations in May to increase transportation options for the state's Medicaid beneficiaries, which account for 24 percent of the state's 7 million residents.

Through traditional Medicaid transportation programs, patients must often share transport vehicles and reserve rides days ahead, while ride-sharing companies require little notice and often take solo passengers.

"The ride-sharing companies are cost-effective," Effie Carlson, a vice president of LogistiCare, a large Medicaid transportation broker, told Kaiser Health News. However, prices fluctuate, increasing during peak-traffic times.

At present, Arizona officials do not have an estimate of cost savings due to ride-sharing.